By Suzie Ziegler
MINNEAPOLIS — Jake Bosacker, a criminal justice major at Texas Christian University, dreamed of becoming a cop. That dream was brought to a screeching halt one night.
While home for Christmas break, Bosacker was out drinking with friends, reported CBS Minnesota. Afterward, he tried to drive home and met the trooper who would change his life.
“He was right there in my face, just weaving all over the place. I figured that I’d definitely had to make a stop,” Trooper Keenan Jones told CBS Minnesota. “Instantly smelled the strong odor of alcohol that he’d been drinking.”
Bosacker was devastated.
“He was pretty, pretty upset, emotional about what was going on,” Jones told CBS Minnesota. “[He was] beating himself up because I found out that he wanted to be a cop so he thought that his life was over and that he had ruined every chance that he could get with becoming an officer.”
But Jones made a difference, Bosacker said.
“[Jones] comforted me and he said that my life isn’t over, and that there might be some work that needs to be done, but the journey can start tonight,” Bosacker said. “I don’t remember specific words that he told me, but I just remember how he made me feel.”
Now, Bosacker is sober and lives with his wife in Fort Worth, Texas. He and Jones still keep in touch and consider themselves friends, according to the report. Bosacker is thankful Jones intervened.
“Thank you for saving my life that night, and possibly somebody else’s,” Bosacker said.
Bosacker still dreams of becoming a police officer.
“I feel like if it’s still in God’s plan for that to happen, I think he’ll make it happen, and we’ll just see where the road takes us,” Bosacker said.
Jones says it’s his job to be the best version of himself while also bettering others.
“A lot of us have made mistakes, we’re not perfect,” Jones said. “The biggest thing is if you make a mistake, try to do better, not be that same person that you were at that time of that mistake.”
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